APA Literature Review Format

TheImpactofDifferentCommunication StylesinMarriageSatisfaction LiteratureReview NonverbalCommunication To a lotofpeople,nonverbalcommunication maybe secondaryto verbalcommunication.Oftentimes,itisoverlooked,andmayevenbeviewedassomethingthatisnotimportant.However,thisparticularaspectofcommunicationcanactuallyspeakalotofthings.Nonverbalform ofcommunicationmayconsistofactionssuchassmiling,looking,touching,frowning,orevenexpressionsofsurprise,asseenintheresearchstudyofWelnerandShane(2004).Womenarefoundtoshow theseforms ofcommunications more compared to men.Welnerand Shane studieddifferentnonverbalactionsandbehaviorsrelatedtothecloserelationshipofacouple,anddiscoveredthatwomenlookedattheirmatesforaconsiderablylongerperiodoftimecomparedtomen.Forexample,theaveragelengththatawifelooksatherhusbandwas7.5seconds,whileahusbandusuallylooksathiswifefor4.5seconds.However,eventhoughmenexpresslessnonverbalcommunicationandemotion,theymaynotreallymeanthattheyarenotpayingattentionwhentheyarebeingspokentobytheirwives.Forexample,WaleyandShawn(2005)theorizedthatmenshow lessemotionmaybebecausetheyweretaughtandlearnedtodampenemotions,includinganger.Assuch,whenahusbandandwifeendsuphavingadisagreement,thesituationmayquicklyescalateifthehusbandexpressesfullyhisemotionsbyshowingviolence.Thus,itwasthereforesuggestedthatalotofmenfailtoshowtheiremotiongenerallybecausetheyhavepersonallytrainedthemselvestobeso-called‘emotionless’,particularlywhenfacingconflictsituations.

Sierra,Base,andDylan(1984)alsosuggestedthatthereistruthtothis.Intheirstudygivingattentiononnonverbalcommunicationanditsrelevancetomaritalcomplaints,they have discovered thatwives who had husbands with goodcommunicationskillshadthetendencytohaveevenmorecomplaintsregardingtheirhusbands.Assuch,ahypothesiswasformed,thatsincemenareexpectedtodampen,ortonetheiremotionsdown,andhavingagoodnonverbalcommunicationskillmaybeviewedassociallyunacceptableintheperspectiveoftheirwives. Itisveryimportanttotakeintoconsiderationwhothebettercommunicatorissothatitbecomes easierto learn from each other,and find ways on how tocommunicateeven moreeffectively.Nolton (1982)discovered thatthereisarelationshipbetweenthemaritaladjustmentofacoupleandtheircommunicationskills.ShehadeachofherparticipantscompletetheMarriageAdjustmentTest(Losch & Williams,1961)to identifytheiroveralllevelofmaritalsatisfaction.Afterwards,thecommunicationstylesofthecoupleswerestudied,withresultsshowingthatthosewhohadlowmaritaladjustmentshowedfewergoodnonverbalcommunicationscomparedtothosewithhighermaritaladjustment.Still,aquestionshouldberaised:Docouplesenduphavinghighermaritaladjustmentbecauseoftheirgoodcommunicationstyles,ordotheyhavegoodcommunicationsimplybecausetheyarehappyandcontentwiththeirmarriage? Ingeneral,womenwerediscoveredtobebetteratnonverbalcommunicationsacrossdifferentstudies.However,beingcalledasaneffectivecommunicatoralsoinvolvesbothencodinganddecodingofmessages.Bynature,womenhavethetendencytobemoreexpessive.Thus,menwerefoundtodomoreerrorscomparedtowomen,especiallywhenencodingmessages(Collier,1982).However,itwasalsodiscovered thatwomen were notthe betterdecoders,ormessage receivers,comparedtomen.Itmaybepossible,though,thatthisisaresultofthepoorabilityofhusbandstoeffectivelyencodemessages.Thesamethingwasalsodiscoveredinotherstudies(Shineetal.,1984).

AdditionalfindingsbySalvatierraetal.alsosuggesttherolethatfamiliarityplaysintheeffectivenessofnonverbalcommunication.Inbothstudies,theparticipantshaveencodedanddecodedmessagestotheirmates.Theinteractionwasrecordedandthenevaluatedbyjudgeswhotriedtodecodetheinteractions.Bothofthestudiesshowedthatthespouseswerebetterskilledatdecodingthemessagesoftheirpartners,implyingthatcouplesmayactuallybecomemoresuccessfulwhenitcomestointerpretingthenonverbalcommunicationoftheirspousesovertime. FlirtingCommunicationStyles Flirtingisusuallyassociatedwithinthestartoftherelationshipofacouple.Ithappenswhenoneshowsinterestinanother.AsdemonstratedinBellandHoran’sstudy(2012),receivingaffectionisrelateddirectlytorelationalsatisfaction.Ontheotherhand,givingaffectionisrelatedtocommitmentwithinarelationship.However,alotofpeoplewonderifflirtingcontinuesincommittedrelationships,includingmarriage.Istherestillareasontoflirtwithinmarriage?Ifso,howdobothhusbandsandwivesdifferintheirstylesofflirting?InEraandBooth’s(2014)studyontheaimofflirtation,theyhavediscoveredthatamajorreasonforflirtinginamarriagewastoestablishaprivateworldbetweenthecouple,thusmotivatingsex.Theyhavealsodiscoveredthatwomenweremorelikelytouseattentiveflirtingthanmen,inwhichwomenshowsahugeamountofconcernforherhusband.InaseparatestudybyLewis(2009),however,menwerealsodiscoveredtouseattentiveflirtingtomaketheirwivesfeelconfidentandbeautiful.Inaccordancetoapreviousstudy,Lewisfoundthatmenflirttoencouragesextypically,whilewomenflirttofocusonfunattention,andinterestintheirpartners. References Bell,B.V.&Horan,H.(2012).The“why”and“how”ofcommunicationwhileflirting.QuarterlyCommunication,62(6),467-480. Collier,H.A (1982).“Flirting isimportantin marriage”:Theimpactofflirtatiouscommunication between couples.Research StudiesinCommunication,12(2),57-62.doi:12.435/235346456457 Era,G.A.&Booth,A.D.(2014).Maritalcommunicationandinteraction:Alongitudinalview.JournalofClinicalandConsultingPsychology,59(2),49-54. Lewis,Y.(2009).Therolethatconflictresolutionplaysinrelationshipmediationbetweenmaritalqualityandenduringvulnerabilities.JournalofFamilyCommunication,11(5,152-171.doi:10.34543/124325436 Losch,H.A.&Williams,H.(1961).Investinaffection:Astudyonrelationalqualitiesandexchangetheory.CommunicationQuarterly,60(6),296-415.Doi:12/1234/5346346.23235.46346 Nolton,T.(1982).Nonverbalcommunication,satisfactionandmaritaladjustment.Theroleofdecodingrelationshiprelatedtorelationshipirrelevantimpact.CommunicationMonographs,71(3),34-53.doi:12.3545/2325 Salvatierra,D.A.,Sean,G.A.,Isa,J.G.,&Wallace,G.A.(2009).Shortmarital-adjustmentandtestsinprediction:Theirvalidityandreliability.FamilyLivingandMarriage,23(5),253-257. Sierra,H.J.,Base,W.&Dylan,Q.(1984).Misunderstandingsinmaritalcommunication:Aresearchonnonverbalcommunicationamongcouples.JournalofSocialandPersonalityPsychology,41(8),123-134. Waley,E.F.,&Shawn(2005).Nonverbalcommunicationaccuracyamongmarriedcouples:Relationshipswithcomplaints.JournalofSocialPsychology,45(7),1000-1003. Welner,H.&Shane,H.(2004).Relationalmaintenance,commitmentandsatisfactioninmarriage:Ananalysis.FamilyCommunicationJournal,10(5),214-230.doi:12.4546/464576457